Sajana's last-ball six, Harmanpreet-Yastika's fifties help Mumbai beat Delhi

A lastball six by debutante Sanjeevan Sajana after Yastika Bhatia 57 and Harmanpreet Kaur 55 struck breezy halfcenturies to help Mumbai Indians defeat Delhi Capitals by four wickets in a last over thriller in the opening match of WPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on FridayAfter Bollywood stars led by superstar Shah Rukh Khan lit up the night in the inaugural ceremony Alice Capsey hammered a 53ball 75 and along with Meg Lanning 31 and Jemimah Rodrigues 42 helped Delhi Capitals reach 1715 in 20 overs after they were asked to bat first by the defending championsThe match ebbed and flowed from one side to another Mumbai Indians from a strong position reached the final over needing 12 runs from six balls Alice Capsey who had excelled with the bat struck with the first ball of the last over to send back Pooja Vastrakar 1 Amanjot Kaur took two runs after Shafali Verma made a fine save and then ran a single With nine needed off three balls Harmanpreet struck a boundaryBut with five needed off two balls the crowd was stunned as Harmanpreet was out as Annabel Sutherland caught a skier off a mighty heave leading Mumbai Indians needing five off the last ball with firsttimer Sajana at the crease The Indian youngster hammered Capsey for a firstball six off a delivery in the slot at middle and leg to seal victory in the WPL 2024 season openerAlso ReadCrickets gender revolutionEarlier Yastika Bhatia kept Mumbai Indians alive after Hayley Matthews was out for a twoball duck She and Nat SciverBrunt raised fifty runs for the second wicket off 33 balls before Yastika completed her halfcentury off 35 balls studded with seven boundaries and two sixes After SciverBrunt was out for 19 Yastika and Harmanpreet Kaur raised 56 runs for the third wicketHarmanpreet who completed her halfcentury off 32 balls hitting six fours and one six kept the innings going adding 44 runs for the fourth wicket with Amelia Kerr 24 as Mumbai Indians kept themselves on course However Amelia Kerr and Pooja Vastrakar got out as things progressed before the lastminute drama ensuredEarlier Delhi Capitals recovered from the early departure of opener Shafali Verma to post a challenging total thanks to a 53ball 75 by English allrounder Alice Capsey and her two halfcentury partnerships with skipper Meg Lanning 31 and Jemimah Rodrigues 42 After rookie pacer Shabnim Ismail made the breakthrough by castling Shafali Verma 1 in the third over Lanning and Capsey who are otherwise archrivals representing Australia and England came together to revive the inningsLanning and Capsey raised 64 runs for the second wicket in around eight overs taking the score to 67 before the Australian opener was out caught by Sajeevan Sajana off England allrounder Nat SciverBrunt who was the best bowler on the day with 233 In her 25ball 31 Lanning struck three boundaries and one maximumCapsey then added breezy 74 runs for the third wicket with Jemimah Rodrigues taking the score to 141 runs in the 18th over Capsey who was the next to get out completed her halfcentury off 36 balls hitting six boundaries and two sixesCapsey who started with backtoback boundaries off Nat SciverBrunt in the fourth over hammered Hayley Matthews for two sixes in the 12th over picking her off the leg stump and followed it up with one over wide longon for an 85m six The next ball she threatened it through the gap between point and backward point for a superb boundary to reach fiftyCapsey was dropped by Sajana at backward point off Shabnim Ismail before she eventually fell to Amelia Kerr trapped leg before by a straight one Jemimah continued to pile the runs reaching 42 off 24 deliveries hitting five boundaries and two maximums as Delhi Capitals posted 1715 in 20 oversBrief scoresDelhi Capitals 1715 in 20 overs Alice Capsey 75 Jemimah Rodrigues 42 Meg Lanning 31 Nat SciverBrunt 233 Amelia Kerr 243 lost to Mumbai Indians 1736 in 20 overs Yastika Bhatia 57 Harmanpreet Kaur 55 Amelia Kerr 24 Arundhati Reddy 227 Alice Capsey 223 by four wicketsWith agency inputs